Sultans of Swing amp settings — Boss GT-1
The Dire Straits guitar tone for “Sultans of Swing”, dialed in for a Boss GT-1 with a Jackson JS22 Dinky. Studio version, Dire Straits debut album (1978) — signature lead/rhythm tone
1961 Fender Stratocaster (bridge+middle position) into Fender Vibrolux / Music Man HD130, no drive pedals, picked fingerstyle
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 2 |
| Bass | 4 |
| Mid | 6 |
| Treble | 8 |
| Presence | 7 |
| Reverb | 3 |
| Master | 6 |
01Compressor Block (Boss GT-1 FX1/Comp)
Essential for evening out fingerstyle snaps and replicating studio optical compression
02Spring Reverb Block (Boss GT-1 Reverb)
Subtle vintage Fender spring tank ambiance
The Jackson JS22 features hotter humbuckers compared to Mark Knopfler's vintage Strat single-coils, so the middle selector position (both humbuckers split/combined) with volume backed off to 9 removes output thickness. In the GT-1, treble and presence are pushed on the CLEAN TWIN model while bass is pulled back to replicate the glassy chime and percussive snap of a vintage Fender Vibrolux. The onboard compressor tightens up the fingerpicked attack without introducing unwanted digital clipping.
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